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National Oil and Hazardous Substances Pollution Contingency Plan; National Priorities List
Note: EPA no longer updates this information, but it may be useful as a reference or resource.
[Federal Register: May 22, 2001 (Volume 66, Number 99)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Page 28096-28099]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr22my01-10]
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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
40 CFR Part 300
[FRL-6956-2]
National Oil and Hazardous Substances Pollution Contingency Plan;
National Priorities List
AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency.
ACTION: Direct final deletion of the Cleveland Mill Superfund Site from
the National Priorities List.
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SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Region 6 is
publishing a direct final deletion of the Cleveland Mill Superfund Site
(the ``Site''), located in Grant County, New Mexico, from the National
Priorities List (NPL).
The NPL, promulgated pursuant to section 105 of the Comprehensive
Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) of
1980, as amended, is appendix B of 40 CFR part 300, which is the
National Oil and Hazardous Substances Pollution Contingency Plan (NCP).
This direct final deletion is being published by EPA with the
concurrence of the State of New Mexico, through the New Mexico
Environment Department (NMED) because EPA has determined that all
appropriate response actions under CERCLA have been completed at the
Site and, therefore, further remedial action pursuant to CERCLA is not
appropriate.
DATES: This direct final deletion will be effective July 23, 2001
unless EPA receives adverse comments by June 21, 2001. If adverse
comments are received, EPA will publish a timely withdrawal of the
direct final deletion in the Federal Register informing the public that
the deletion will not take effect.
ADDRESSES: Comments may be mailed to: Ms. Beverly Negri, Community
Involvement Coordinator (6SF-PO), U.S. EPA Region 6, 1445 Ross Avenue,
Dallas, Texas 75202-2733, (214) 665-8157 or 1-800-533-3508.
Information Repositories: Comprehensive information about the Site
is available for viewing and copying at the Site information
repositories located at: U.S. EPA Region 6 Library, 12th Floor, 1445
Ross Avenue, Suite 12D13, Dallas, Texas 75202-2733, (214) 665-6424,
Monday through Friday 7:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.; Silver City Public
Library, 5151 West College Avenue, Silver City, New Mexico 88061, (505)
538-3672, Monday and Thursday 9:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m., Tuesday and
Wednesday 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m., Friday 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., and
Saturday 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.; New Mexico Environment Department
Library, 1190 St. Francis Drive, Santa Fe, New Mexico 87502, (505) 827-
2844, Monday through Friday 8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ms. Kathleen Aisling, Remedial Project
Manager (6SF-LT), U.S. EPA Region 6, 1445 Ross Avenue, Dallas, Texas
75202-2733, (214) 665-8509 or 1-800-533-3508.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Table of Contents
I. Introduction
II. NPL Deletion Criteria
III. Deletion Procedures
IV. Basis for Site Deletion
V. Deletion Action
I. Introduction
EPA Region 6 is publishing this direct final notice of deletion of
the Cleveland Mill Superfund Site from the NPL.
The EPA identifies sites that appear to present a significant risk
to public health or the environment and maintains the NPL as the list
of those sites. As described in the NCP at 40 CFR 300.425(e)(3), sites
deleted from the NPL remain eligible for remedial actions if conditions
at a deleted site warrant such action.
Because EPA considers this action to be noncontroversial and
routine, EPA is taking it without prior publication of a notice of
intent to delete. This action will be effective July 23, 2001 unless
EPA receives adverse comments by June 21, 2001 on this document. If
adverse comments are received within the 30-day public comment period
on this deletion, EPA will publish a timely withdrawal of this direct
final deletion before the effective date of the deletion and the
deletion will not take effect. EPA will, as appropriate, prepare a
response to comments and continue with the deletion process on the
basis of
[[Page 28097]]
the notice of intent to delete and the comments already received. There
will be no additional opportunity to comment.
Section II of this document explains the criteria for deleting
sites from the NPL. Section III discusses procedures that EPA is using
for this action. Section IV discusses the Cleveland Mill Superfund Site
and demonstrates how it meets the deletion criteria. Section V
discusses EPA's action to delete the Site from the NPL unless adverse
comments are received during the public comment period.
II. NPL Deletion Criteria
Section 300.425(e) of the NCP provides that releases may be deleted
from the NPL where no further response is appropriate. In making a
determination to delete a release from the NPL, EPA shall consider, in
consultation with the State, whether any of the following criteria have
been met:
i. Responsible parties or other persons have implemented all
appropriate response actions required;
ii. All appropriate Fund-financed (Hazardous Substance Superfund
Response Trust Fund) response under CERCLA has been implemented, and no
further response action by responsible parties is appropriate; or
iii. The remedial investigation has shown that the release poses no
significant threat to public health or the environment and, therefore,
the taking of remedial measures is not appropriate.
Even if a site is deleted from the NPL, where hazardous substances,
pollutants, or contaminants remain at the deleted site above levels
that allow for unlimited use and unrestricted exposure, CERCLA section
121(c), 42 U.S.C. 9621(c), requires that a subsequent review of the
site be conducted at least every five years after the initiation of the
remedial action at the deleted site to ensure that the action remains
protective of public health and the environment. If new information
becomes available which indicates a need for further action, EPA may
initiate remedial actions. Whenever there is a significant release from
a site deleted from the NPL, the deleted site may be restored to the
NPL without application of the hazard ranking system.
III. Deletion Procedures
The following procedures apply to deletion of the Site:
(1) The EPA consulted with NMED on the deletion of the Site from
the NPL prior to developing this direct final deletion.
(2) The NMED concurred with deletion of the Site from the NPL.
(3) Concurrently with the publication of this direct final
deletion, a notice of the availability of the parallel notice of intent
to delete published today in the ``Proposed Rules'' section of the
Federal Register is being published in a major local newspaper of
general circulation at or near the Site and is being distributed to
appropriate federal, state, and local government officials and other
interested parties; the newspaper notice announces the 30-day public
comment period concerning the notice of intent to delete the Site from
the NPL.
(4) The EPA placed copies of documents supporting the deletion in
the Site information repositories identified above.
(5) If adverse comments are received within the 30-day public
comment period on this document, EPA will publish a timely notice of
withdrawal of this direct final deletion before its effective date and
will prepare a response to comments and continue with the deletion
process on the basis of the notice of intent to delete and the comments
already received.
Deletion of a site from the NPL does not itself create, alter, or
revoke any individual's rights or obligations. Deletion of a site from
the NPL does not in any way alter EPA's right to take enforcement
actions, as appropriate. The NPL is designed primarily for
informational purposes and to assist EPA management. Section
300.425(e)(3) of the NCP states that the deletion of a site from the
NPL does not preclude eligibility for future response actions, should
future conditions warrant such actions.
IV. Basis for Site Deletion
The following information provides EPA's rationale for deleting the
Site from the NPL:
A. Site Location
The Site is located in Grant County, in southwestern New Mexico,
approximately 5.5 miles northeast of Silver City, New Mexico. The Site
includes approximately 4 acres in mountainous terrain and 14 acres
which extend down a drainage area into the streambed of Little Walnut
Creek. The surrounding property is located in a rapidly developing
residential area that is adjacent to the Gila National Forest and
private lands. The population within a 3-mile radius of the Site is
estimated to be 1,200.
B. Site History
The Site is a former ore processing mill area adjacent to the
Cleveland Mine. The Cleveland Mine, located approximately 0.5 mile
northeast of the mill area, is one of the Cleveland Group of Mines
located in the West Pinos Altos Mining District. The first of the
Cleveland Mining claims was staked in the early 1900s and included a
milling operation at the Site. The milling operation employed a gravity
separator until 1916, and a flotation process from 1916 until at least
1919. Approximately 125,000 tons of lead, zinc, and copper ore were
produced from the Cleveland Mine during the period from about 1900
until 1919. After this time, the site was leased for mining and
grazing. The tailings from the milling operations were deposited at the
headwaters of the Little Walnut Creek and both the soil and the surface
water were contaminated with Site-related hazardous substances.
The Site was proposed for inclusion on the NPL on June 24, 1988,
and inclusion was finalized on March 31, 1989, pursuant to section 105
of CERCLA, 42 U.S.C. 9605, identifying the Site as a priority for long-
term remedial evaluation and response.
Remedial Investigation and Feasibility Study (RI/FS)
From August 1990 through March 1992, NMED, under an agreement with
EPA, conducted a Remedial Investigation (RI) at the Cleveland Mill
Superfund Site to determine the nature and extent of the problem
presented by the release of hazardous substances, pollutants or
contaminants at the Site. Hazardous substances were detected in soil
and other surface materials at the site at concentration levels that
exceed health-based standards: arsenic ranged from 4.1 to 3,020
milligrams per kilogram (mg/kg); beryllium ranged from 0.25 to 12.8 mg/
kg; cadmium ranged from 0.15 to 376 mg/kg; lead ranged from 5.8 to
13,500 mg/kg; and zinc ranged from 57.3 to 122,000 mg/kg. The NMED also
conducted a Feasibility Study (FS) on the Site, under an agreement with
EPA. The primary objective of the FS, completed in March 1993, was to
ensure that appropriate remedial alternatives were developed and
evaluated such that relevant information concerning the remedial action
options could be presented to a decision-maker (in this case the EPA
Region 6 Regional Administrator) and an appropriate remedy selected.
On April 9, 1993, the EPA released the RI and FS Reports. The RI
concluded that if no action was taken at the Site, there would be a
threat to human health because Site visitors may be exposed to
dangerous concentrations of hazardous substances in tailings, sediment,
and surface water at the Site. Moreover, there was a potential for the
[[Page 28098]]
wells of nearby residents to become contaminated. These residents rely
on ground water for drinking.
Record of Decision Findings
On September 24, 1993, after consideration of public comments, the
EPA, with the concurrence of the NMED, issued a Record of Decision
(ROD) memorializing its selection of a remedy to address the
contamination at the Site. The remedy was chosen in accordance with
CERCLA and the NCP. The ROD was based on the administrative record for
the Site. The overall Site remedy, as described in the 1993 ROD, called
for excavation of the contaminated mill waste material, transportation
of the waste material to a reprocessor for treatment, and disposal of
the treatment residuals at the reprocessing facility in an area where
other tailings and residuals from ore-processing were disposed. The
remedy in the 1993 ROD did not include a remedy for the shallow on-site
aquifer because the EPA believed that the contamination would attenuate
once the source (i.e., the contaminated waste material) was removed.
Therefore, the 1993 ROD included ground water monitoring, to ensure
that the contamination did not worsen or spread to nearby residential
wells prior to the excavation and removal of the source of the
contamination, and to verify that the ground water quality improved
once the source was removed.
Removal Action
In a June 1995, Consent Decree (CD), the participating companies
agreed to implement the remedy specified in the 1993 ROD. However, the
1993 ROD remedy was not implemented because the search for an
acceptable off-site disposal facility was ultimately unsuccessful, and
because, during the search, unanticipated and powerful rainfall events
caused hazardous substances from the Site to migrate in contaminated
runoff. This unanticipated contaminant migration posed an immediate
increased risk to human health and the environment.
On July 11, 1997, to address the immediate risk, the EPA, with the
concurrence of the NMED, issued an Action Memorandum that authorized a
time-critical removal action to physically address the Site
contamination and to restore affected surface areas at the Site. The
participating companies agreed to implement this removal action through
an EPA Administrative Order on Consent (AOC) which became effective on
September 23, 1997. As described below, the removal action included the
excavation of the contaminated material, and the placement of that
material in an on-Site containment cell. The field activities required
by the AOC were completed on November 19, 1998, the date on which the
seeds of native plants were sown on the last area of the Site in order
to provide vegetative cover. Completion of the final AOC requirement
occurred on December 10, 1998, the date the participating companies
submitted the Removal Action Final Report which was accepted by EPA.
Cleanup Activities Performed
The cleanup activities at the Site were conducted from September
1997 through December 1998 during the time-critical removal action. The
time-critical removal action included:
Excavation of 164,960 cubic yards of contaminated tailings
and sediment from the mine area, the mill area, and the streambed;
Neutralization of the acidic excavated material through
admixing with limestone;
Disposal of the neutralized material in a limestone cell
constructed at the Site;
Covering of the cell with a multi-layered cap,
Construction of erosion control measures such as terraces;
and
Reseeding of the disturbed areas of the Site and the
disposal cell cap.
C. Characterization of Risk
Contaminated materials were removed from Site soils and sediments
until concentrations of contaminants remaining on the Site met the
health-based remediation goals specified in the 1993 ROD (these goals
were referred to as ``Remedial Action Goals'' in the ROD) and
incorporated into the Action Memorandum as soil and sediment ``cleanup
levels.'' Cleanup levels for soil and sediment included: arsenic, 30
milligrams per kilogram in soil (mg/kg); beryllium, 4 mg/kg; cadmium,
140 mg/kg; lead, 500 mg/kg; and zinc, 82,000 mg/kg. At the conclusion
of the time-critical removal action, confirmatory samples were taken at
all excavated areas of the Site to verify that all soils (including
tailings) and sediment with concentrations of contaminants higher than
the cleanup levels (i.e., the remediation goals established in the ROD)
had been removed.
The environmental threat at the Site was addressed through this
time-critical removal. As part of this removal, the waste material in
the mill area and in the stream was excavated, the waste material was
treated with limestone to neutralize its acidity, the treated material
was disposed of in a limestone cell constructed at the Site, and the
cell was covered by a multi-layered cap.
The EPA issued an Amended ROD for the Site on September 20, 1999,
stating that no further response action was necessary; however, as
explained in the Amended ROD, the continuation of ground water and
surface water monitoring, operation and maintenance (O&M) of the
constructed remedy, and implementation of the existing institutional
controls will continue. The O&M activities include inspections to
ensure that erosion does not compromise the remedy and to ensure that
the revegetation efforts are successful. Institutional controls include
restrictive covenants warning against the use of ground water and
advising future owners about the risks of disturbing the cover and/or
the underlying material.
The original selected remedy, the time-critical removal action and
the remedy selected in the Amended ROD (collectively the ``Site
remedies'') are protective of public health and the environment, comply
with federal and state requirements that are legally applicable or
relevant and appropriate to the remedial action, and are cost
effective. The Site remedies utilized permanent solutions to the
maximum extent practicable for this Site. This Site meets all the
completion requirements as specified in ``Close Out Procedures for
National Priorities List Sites,'' OSWER Directive 9320.2-09A-P (2000),
and in the June 16, 2000, Site Close Out Report prepared by the EPA
Region 6 Superfund Division.
D. Future Activity
Because the implementation of the Site remedies resulted in
hazardous substances remaining on-site at concentration levels above
levels that allow for unlimited use and unrestricted exposure (see 42
U.S.C. 9621(c), and 40 CFR 300.430(f)(4)(ii)), a review will be
conducted at least every five years after commencement of the remedial
action (which, at this Site for the purposes of the five-year review
only, is considered to be the start of the time-critical removal
action) to assure that human health and the environment are being
protected by the response action. The five-year reviews will be
conducted pursuant to ``Structure and Components of Five-Year
Reviews,'' OSWER Directive 9355.7-02 (May 23, 1991) and ``Supplemental
Five-Year Review Guidance,'' OSWER Directive 9355.7-02A (July 26, 1994)
or other EPA guidance current at the time of the review. All response
activities have
[[Page 28099]]
been completed at the Site other than O&M and five-year reviews.
E. Community Involvement
Public participation activities have been satisfied as required by
CERCLA section 113(k), 42 U.S.C. 9613(k), and CERCLA section 117, 42
U.S.C. 9617. Documents in the deletion docket which EPA relied on for
its decision to delete the Site from the NPL are available to the
public at the information repositories.
V. Deletion Action
The EPA, with concurrence of the NMED, has determined that
responsible parties have implemented all appropriate response actions
required at the Site and that no further response actions, under
CERCLA, other than O&M and five-year reviews, are necessary. Therefore,
EPA is deleting the Site from the NPL.
Because EPA considers this action to be noncontroversial and
routine, EPA is taking it without prior publication of a notice of
intent to delete. This action will be effective July 23, 2001 unless
EPA receives adverse comments by June 21, 2001. If adverse comments are
received within the 30-day public comment period, EPA will publish a
timely withdrawal of this direct final deletion before the effective
date of the deletion and it will not take effect and EPA will prepare a
response to comments and continue with the deletion process on the
basis of the notice of intent to delete and the comments already
received. There will be no additional opportunity to comment.
List of Subjects in 40 CFR Part 300
Environmental protection, Air pollution control, Chemicals,
Hazardous waste, Hazardous substances, Intergovernmental relations,
Penalties, Reporting and recordkeeping requirements, Superfund, Water
pollution control, Water supply.
Dated: January 22, 2001.
Jerry Clifford,
Deputy Regional Administrator, Region 6.
For the reasons set out in this document, 40 CFR part 300 is
amended as follows:
PART 300--[AMENDED]
1. The authority citation for part 300 continues to read as
follows:
Authority: 33 U.S.C. 1321(c)(2); 42 U.S.C. 9601-9657; E.O.
12777, 56 FR 54757, 3 CFR, 1991 Comp., p. 351; E.O. 12580, 52 FR
2923, 3 CFR, 1987 Comp., p. 193.
Appendix B--[Amended]
2. Table 1 of Appendix B to Part 300 is amended by removing the
site for Cleveland Mill, Silver City, NM.
[FR Doc. 01-12705 Filed 5-21-01; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P